Republican disarray has been quite generous to us recently. Care for some more?
It appears John Boehner is tired of fucking around, and wants a unified Republican caucus. Those Tea Party revolts among Republicans in the House? A thing of the past. They tend to reflect badly on House Speakers.
So, no more Mr. Nice Guy:
Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) warned his conference on Wednesday that leaders are “watching” how the rank and file vote to determine committee assignments, according to sources in a closed-door meeting.
Threatening members with panel assignments is a clear sign that Boehner is getting tougher with his conference and reminding many in Washington of the tactics used by former Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas).
Better late than never, I suppose:
In many ways, the easygoing Boehner is the polar opposite of DeLay, who was known as “The Hammer.” Boehner has tried cajoling his members over the last couple of years to be team players. But by and large, it hasn’t worked, and Boehner is now shifting course.
And what new course is that? One that collides with the most irritable faction within the entire Republican Party:
Conservative lawmakers, in particular, want answers as to the “crimes committed” by the four members dropped from their committees. They are also not pleased that the members were not called and were alerted to the news by the media.
But the new and improved tough-guy Boehner says the recent purge wasn't because members weren't conservative enough, it was because they weren't conforming enough:
Boehner told the conference that the moves had nothing to do with conservative ideology and referenced “voting patterns.”
So you better watch out, non-party-line-towing Republicans, because there's a new sheriff in town...
Boehner warned GOP lawmakers that “there may be more folks that will be targeted ... we’re watching all your votes.”
Look! Results already! :
“I’m most troubled because independent voices will not be as vocal as they might as well have been … some of them are going to be intimidated,” [Rep. Steve] King said as he slipped into the two-hour meeting.
lol. Since when are conservatives or Tea Party patriots that easily frightened?
John...John...I...I...I think someone's following you:
There is considerable risk for Boehner and his lieutenants. Major players on the right, including Sarah Palin, the Club for Growth and Michelle Malkin, have ripped GOP leaders for the purging of the four members.
Oops! What happened? I thought Big Boehner had it locked-down?
Don't look now, but...
The conservative blog Red State, run by the influential political commentator Erick Erickson, is calling on Republicans to depose Boehner.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Now Boehner's
REALLY fucked.
And his friends on the other side of the aisle are here to help:
The crux of the problem is that Democrats have successfully employed a “divide and conquer” strategy when outspoken GOP House members “gratuitously badmouth the leadership,” a key source told The Hill. [...]
I hope you enjoy playing with your caucus, Boehner.
Source